Hi I'm 17 and still in 6thform and I've beena bit worried about what I'm gonna do for a job, and its just clicked really, I've realised i want to respray cars, does anyone have and knowledge as to what i need to do, to get into the industry, i really need some help.

cheers,

lewis.

apprentiship at your local body shop and go from there

^^ i know its not spelt right but I'm dim lol

so theres no need for collage or extra education first mate?

so theres no need for collage or extra education first mate?

go to panel beating and painting course at collage and get a job body shop

Do an apprenticeship with a college in Vehicle Repair, that way you will get all of the city and guilds and NVQ's you will need, which is good if you decide to move onto other things in the future. It will be three years of shitty pay and being treated like a bitch but it is the best way to get into the industry, unless you have worked for refinishers before.

Also VW and other companies run thier own apprenticeship schemes. Where you will do an intensive course in the middle of you apprenticeship, rather than having your week split up doing different things i.e. college and work.

It was something I was doing before I came to uni, as I decided it was for me. Its a great laugh and you get good job satisfaction but I found the amount of prep rather boring..... but thats coz I'm impatient.

Good luck.

ah right cheers mate do you know if the pay eventually would be decent enuf to support a family with.

ow cheers fella, so vw do an apprentaship, is it stright in or will i need to go to collage first?

Edited 15 April, 201016 yr by Green_Crayon

try and get a apprentership with nationwide body repairs i heard they pay good eventually, you want to own your own bodyshop

Most modern apprenticeships will in theory require you to have 5 A-C GCSEs, but if you sell yourself well enough to the employer and show it's what you genuinely want to do and aren't just going to pack it in, you'll stand a good chance.

Money wise, I would say if you are wanting more than £20k a year, look elsewhere or aim to have your own bodyshop.

pays not good in the motor trade and never realy has been I've been

doing panel beating for 24 years still enjoy it but you will never make afortune at it

if its what you want to do go for it try and get a course that lets you do pas 125

as most insurance approved bodyshops now need it to get insurance work its

simalar to been a corgi regesterd gas fitter . its a pain to do but wurth it

atm I'm in my 3rd year of an NVQ in body repair and I've been working in bodyshops since i was 16 [i'm now 19]

you dont need lots of GCSE's, but it does help as it cuts down on the amount of exams you have to do at college.

for me atm, pay isnt great...but if you progress well and end up in an insurance bodyshop, thats where you start to see higher rates of pay [a chap who works as a painter where my mom works can see £20k a year plus bonuses]

atm as i have no kids, i do it more for the love of the job ie. restoring classic motors to there former glory. than the money [even though money is nice]

i do recommend start calling places now to try and get a place in a garage, as its not easy. i rang every bodyshop in my local Yellow Pages and sent off endless amounts of C.V's and only a handful of places contacted me back.

and id also recommend not becoming a painter straight away...start as a prepper so you can understand what goes into the repair before paint.

I've heard people say "anybody can put paint on a car, put its a skill to prep it properly"

Edited 15 April, 201016 yr by BigSexyRob

I'm really wanting to do this is something i know I'm going to love, atm I've got 11 gcse's 3 a/s levels and finishing alevel in may, i was going to go into concept artist for games, but I'm not 100% its what i wanna do, then there uni loan to pay off :/ its just I'm not sure wether to jump stright into apprentaship or go to collage first doing panel beating. cheers for the help by the way everyone

Edited 15 April, 201016 yr by Green_Crayon

atm I'm in my 3rd year of an NVQ in body repair and I've been working in bodyshops since i was 16 [i'm now 19]

you dont need lots of GCSE's, but it does help as it cuts down on the amount of exams you have to do at college.

for me atm, pay isnt great...but if you progress well and end up in an insurance bodyshop, thats where you start to see higher rates of pay [a chap who works as a painter where my mom works can see £20k a year plus bonuses]

atm as i have no kids, i do it more for the love of the job ie. restoring classic motors to there former glory. than the money [even though money is nice]

i do recommend start calling places now to try and get a place in a garage, as its not easy. i rang every bodyshop in my local Yellow Pages and sent off endless amounts of C.V's and only a handful of places contacted me back.

and id also recommend not becoming a painter straight away...start as a prepper so you can understand what goes into the repair before paint.

I've heard people say "anybody can put paint on a car, put its a skill to prep it properly"

yeah, you could be the worlds greatest painter but poor preperation is never gonna give you a good finish, its just time and patience,

I'm really wanting to do this is something i know I'm going to love, atm I've got 11 gcse's 3 a/s levels and finishing alevel in may, i was going to go into concept artist for games, but I'm not 100% its what i wanna do, then there uni loan to pay off :/ its just I'm not sure wether to jump stright into apprentaship or go to collage first doing panel beating. cheers for the help by the way everyone

i do a part time course.

work 4 days a week and have day release to college to do my NVQ.

start as young as you can is my advice. the low pay wont effect you as much. after youve qualified you should have comfortable pay.

most of the major car companies have apprenticeship schemes. go on all the websites and apply..VW, renault, ford, land rover, toyota. as many as you can think of.

I've found these courses at my local collage http://www.lincolncollege.ac.uk/courses?fi...many_to_one=All

but i have no clue what course i should do could someone help me out, I'm just wondering if i did part time i could do apprentaship aswell.

again cheers people for the help its greatly appriciated

id go straight to the body shops and ask for apprentices. could be hard though atm. i tryed last summer to get one and no one was taking on.

I'm not sure which one but one party in the election is going to give companies a bonus if they take on apprentices. so get voting for them if i were you!

Edited 15 April, 201016 yr by LFCJosh

None of those coarses are body repair. Try searching further afield.

i found this one in north notts collage in worksop, thats close to me: Motor Vehicle - Maintenance & Repair - Light (IMI NVQ Level 2)

would that be the one i need? i cant seem to find level 1 tho?

No

crap lol ill keep lookin

When hes qualified in a few years we can all have mates rates on resprays :)

I would ask to do a month or so's voluntary work experience somewhere.

I work at my dads bodyshop when hes got a lot on, and it can be very boring. Before you jump in and get an apprenticeship somewhere, you want to experience the job. The pay is shit in car bodwork unless you are doing restorations on really expensive old cars or something.

Bear in mind that doing normal body repairs, you are going to be doing basically the same thing every day, filling, rubbing down etc. and it's very boring stuff. I work for my dad for £5 an hour just doing prep work, and it's not really worth it. You will probably be getting less than that as an apprentice as well.

Not trying to put you off, just warning you.

The best apprenticeships out there are probably electrical or plumbing... my local council was recruiting apprentice electricians a while back, started on £15.5k per year, 1 day a week at college, and you worked from 1 central place. Get to the office at 9, drive 2 hours to the house that needs work doing, leave in time to get back to the office for 5pm, and your finished. Was only a 2 year course and would have ended up on ~£35k per year.

I would ask to do a month or so's voluntary work experience somewhere.

I work at my dads bodyshop when hes got a lot on, and it can be very boring. Before you jump in and get an apprenticeship somewhere, you want to experience the job. The pay is shit in car bodwork unless you are doing restorations on really expensive old cars or something.

Bear in mind that doing normal body repairs, you are going to be doing basically the same thing every day, filling, rubbing down etc. and it's very boring stuff. I work for my dad for £5 an hour just doing prep work, and it's not really worth it. You will probably be getting less than that as an apprentice as well.

Not trying to put you off, just warning you.

i have to disagree with you there.

tbh, there isnt alot of money in the restoration business...i work on top end classic cars [E-Types, DB5s, etc.] and the pay still isnt great.

youve got to think, if you have 10 jobs through the door a week and the average price of repair is £500...thats £5000.

but if you have a resto come in, you could charge £5000 for the job, but thatd be spread over a period of months.